In this age of information technology, collective efforts are necessary to keep children safe in the vast world of the Internet. Students and their parents should be made aware of the harmful aspects of technology from childhood to school level without leaving the future generation in the dark about technology.
Speakers made these remarks at a workshop on ensuring safe internet for children at the main conference room of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) on Monday. BTRC Chairman (Senior Secretary) Shyam Sundar Sikder was present as the chief guest in the workshop organized by Sesame Workshop Bangladesh and Sisimpur with the support of BTRC. In the event, a research on the overall condition of children in Bangladesh on the Internet was presented. The research was conducted under the initiative of Sesame Workshop Bangladesh, a research institute development coordination.
According to research, there is almost no pre-primary content on the internet, resulting in children mostly viewing content that is substandard, risky and not suitable for them. The study emphasizes the importance of increasing educational and quality content suitable for children to keep them safe on the Internet.
In his welcome speech to the workshop, Director General of Systems and Services Department of BTRC, Brigadier General Md. Nasim Parvez said, as a regulatory body, BTRC is also working to ensure safe internet in addition to issuing licenses in the telecommunication sector. BTRC is continuing to communicate with various social media including Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and every three months by calling a meeting with these organizations to highlight the issues existing in the cyber world. He also mentioned that according to the recently published Bangladesh Cyber Crime Trends-2023 report, women and children are the most victims of cybercrimes and 14.82 percent of the victims are under 18 years of age, which is 140.87 percent more than the 2018 survey.
While speaking as the Chief Guest, the BTRC Chairman (Senior Secretary) Mr. Shyam Sundar Sikder said, Cyber Security Cell has been launched in BTRC, through which the victims of various cybercrimes are assisted. Noting that most of the victimized women and children do not complain for fear of public shame, he said, awareness will increase if ISP operators provide parental guidelines to parents while providing internet connection at home. He also thinks that it will be fruitful if students can be made aware by going to educational institutions.
Abu Syed Dilzar Hossain, Commissioner of Legal and Licensing Department, said on the occasion that it is important to strengthen family ties to make the mental development and awareness of children. Pointing out that children are increasingly addicted to the internet, he said, BTRC is working on formulating OTT guidelines to bring social media under control. He said that it is the responsibility of all of us to create a safe future for children. He also said that children should be aware of the fact that they can connect with nature and rural environment without being addicted to the digital world.
Engineer Sheikh Riaz Ahmed, Commissioner of Spectrum Division of BTRC, said that in order to keep children safe on the Internet, effective initiatives should be taken in coordination with other organizations such as ISPP, mobile operators and other organizations engaged in the information technology sector, in addition to following the guidelines made by the World Health Organization.
Commissioner of Finance, Accounting and Revenue Department of the Commission Dr. Mushfiq Mannan Chowdhury said that with the development of technology, the pattern of crime in the cyber world has also been changed. Advising to bring up the actual situation in this regard through research to ensure safe internet for children, he said, awareness activities should be taken to keep the cyber world safe.
While speaking as the special guest, the Managing Director of Sesame Workshop Bangladesh Mohammad Shah Alam said that parents should be made aware to keep children safe in the vast range of cyber world. Sisimpur is doing just that through the Safe Internet for Early Childhood Development project.
While speaking as the president, the BTRC Vice-Chairman Engineer Md. Mohiuddin Ahmed said, the whole world is moving towards technology. Therefore, children and teenagers should not be blocked the way to learn about the cyber world and keep the way to acquire technology knowledge open. Stating that the internet is having a harmful effect on students from primary school to high school because they are not aware, he said that parents should come forward first to get out of the bad effects of the internet. He also commented that it is important to make parents of children aware, especially mothers.
In the workshop conducted by Sesame Workshop Bangladesh Director Abu Saif Ansari (Programme and Business Development), BTRC Director General of Administration Abdullah Al Mamun, Director General of Engineering and Operations Brigadier General Md. Ehsanul Kabir, Secretary (BTRC) Md. Nurul Hafeez, Officials of BTRC and representatives of various organizations including mobile operators, internet service providers, internet society foundation participated in the workshop.